Pucker up!

My darling sweet, handsome Beau-hunk...(he really is quite handsome) treated me to NYC for the long weekend. It wasn't totally self-less, he needed to pick up a snow plow for his 59 Land Rover (I just got the bill today for last winters snow-plowing and this acquisition has already paid for itself). So we had a nice adventure through beautiful Connecticut and Vermont as well. And a lovely visit to Samuel Clemens home in Hartford.

I used to love NYC but I found this visit to be a bit on the Disney-esque side of life. I am also completely out of shape and the walking was extremely tiring. Next visit will be better planned with more street fairs and out of the way open artist's studios (I will be glad to never see Times Square again). And I will prepare for the marathon walks by walking a bit more on my neighbouring country roads. 

We did stay in a funky hotel called The Pod. It is the most peculiar place (albeit very clean and friendly) I have ever stayed... pseudo Euro-Asian, purposely tiny rooms... hence the name. But the price was right and it had all the amenities (like a bathroom a mere 2 feet from the bed). Good clean fun.

To celebrate being home (larger than a pod)... sweet home... I am participating in Sugar High Friday hosted by Tartelette this week with my ode to Citrus. A friend was kind enough to give me a sample of her grapefruit marmalade which seemed to be screaming to be added to a sweet baked treat. And since my Beau is taking me to Masala Bay for dinner, I have Indian spice on the brain. Cardamom is known for its grapefruity scent so I figured they would pair marvelously.

I may have overcooked the blondies slightly, they are cakey rather than gooey (I prefer gooey) but the flavour combination is really good. These would be nice warmed with a honey sauce and a bit of ice cream.

Spicy Grapefruit Blondies

• 8 tbsp butter
  
• 1 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 egg
  
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
  
• 2 tbsp grapefruit marmalade 
  
• 2 tbsp manuka honey
  
• 1 cup flour
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 1 tbsp cardamom
  
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
  
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  

Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease 8"x8" pan. Mix melted butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg, lemon juice, marmalade and honey, combine until smooth. Mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and cardamom. Add to the wet ingredients, mix until smooth. Fold in white chocolate chips. Pour into greased pan and bake for 25 minutes or until golden and cracked on top. Cool in pan before removing and cutting.

B-limey!

These are tasty cupcakes! I failed miserably with my mango cupcakes (that promptly fell into the garbage bin... I was in no mood to make them into something reasonable) but I had a plethora of unused coconut creme icing. No mangoes in sight and I didn't want to be increasingly wasteful. Chocolate and coconut, caramel and coconut, banana and coconut... I was already a day late in celebrating Cinco de mayo (gotta love a celebration of tequila and burritos!) so I opted for LIME. 

Lovely lime cupcakes. I began with this recipe which I found on a google. I substituted lime marmalade for zest and followed the mixing to a tee which created the fluffiest batter ever. Sometimes you can just look at the batter and see (and taste) a winner. I also added extra lime juice.

The coconut icing below was swirled on after being stuffed into a ziploc bag and snipping off the tip (I won't buy a decorating set until I make enough cakes to warrant it... I may be cheap but I also hate having too much stuff to get lost in my kitchen).

I wanted to use yogurt in my icing and googled it and was amazed to see a variety of recipes to ice cakes for dog parties... are there really so many people who have parties for their dogs? They may have worse problems than icing a carob dog cake. (Except for Randi because Oliver is an actual boy in a furry pantsuit).

Coconut Creme Icing

• 8 Tablespoons butter, softened
  
• 1/2 cup yogurt
  
• 3 cups confectioner's sugar
  
• 1/4 cup coconut cream powder

In mixer beat yogurt and butter. Add coconut cream powder. Mix in confectioner's sugar a little at a time to ensure smoothness and preferred consistency. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Pizza Night

I have spent most of my years pandering to other's pizza topping choices. Well, not last night! Left to forage on my own without my Beau and the Boy's interference, I decided to make pizza. Not just any pizza but my dream pizza... considering I worked from what I had on hand... it was pretty darn dreamy. 

I started with my favourite pizza dough recipe which I had previously whipped up in my breadmaker and frozen (it had already thawed and risen). I had a 1/2 jar of classico vodka sauce left over so I spread it on. I added chopped artichoke hearts, tomatoes (prefer sundried), sweet peppers, chives, pizza cheese and a handful of feta. Black olives would have been great but alas I need to go shopping. Baked it at 400 for 18 minutes... voila, a pretty damn tasty pizza.

When I was a kid, I always chose sour cream and bacon flavoured chips. My reasoning was that most people didn't like them and I wouldn't have to share. Some things never change.

The Perfect Brownie #2

My elusive search for number one yummy brownie brought me to Anna's site which has 40 different brownie recipes on it... 40! It was very hard to choose but I decided on another cocoa version (this one also used oil instead of butter). Well, the brownie was very moist (and I think I may have still overcooked it). I had company coming over so I wasn't willing to risk a brownie pudding but perhaps next time I will allow for the goo covered knife test.

These brownies are incredibly easy to make so I would try them again if I had limited time (like when my beau says, do we have any brownies, and we don't... I aim to please). I couldn't bare to use a 1/2 cup of oil (yuck) so I used 1/4 cup of oil and 1/4 of applesauce (perhaps I will puree prunes or dates next time to give it a richer, sweeter taste). Overall, the taste was slightly bitter even though a ton of sugar is used (yes, an actual ton!). Maybe I need to reread the recipe. 

I also decided to sprinkle 1/2 cup of walnuts on the top of one side of the batter (rather than mixing them in) and melted a 1/2 cup of orange marmalade and swirled it into the other half of the batter. Two flavours in one! The orange may have added to the bitter taste so next time I will add a bit more sugar to the marmalade before swirling (raspberry jam would probably work well too).

I may consider trying all 40 of the brownie recipes on Anna's site. It may take a few years (or less at this rate) but I have a feeling my perfect brownie may be in there somewhere.

The Perfect Brownie #1 - PBC Monsters

This is a story about my unrelenting search for the perfect brownie. 

My beau loves the brownie. He even seems to enjoy the overcooked, dry variety. I only like super moist gooey fudgi-liscious brownies. I have tried over a dozen recipes and last night I decided to use this one. Lets just say that I am still searching.

The batter was very thick and not spreadable which left a bumpy texture on the brownie. I even added a bit of milk to adjust the consistency. Perhaps, there is too much peanut butter in the batter and some needs to be added as a swirl at the end. The finished product felt moist but had a dry, sticky texture when chewed. The flavour is lacking, although cocoa is much easier to work with it adds a strange chalky flavour to brownies. I really should melt the easter chocolate and make a rich chocolatey batch.

Alas, the search continues...

Siamese Bread

Inspired by NQN and the rotting bananas in my freezer I have entered my first baking challenge, The Banana Bread Bake Off. The pineapple in my fridge also needed eating so with a little curry and coconut I had a nice Thai vibe going on. My oven tends to bake a bit dark but otherwise the bread smelled lovely and has a very pleasant sweet curry taste. The colour is a nice warm orange which I think may be the curry influence as well. Although this is definitely a sweet bread, it would be lovely served alongside a savoury Indian or Thai dish.

In two more weeks I will have more rotten bananas, I really do have the best intentions on eating them before that point, but I may try this one again with coconut flakes and dried pineapple.

PS. The glowing "angel-effect" on my photos is actually a filthy lens! I only realized it after I had cut the bread... I really do need some photo lessons!

Thai Pineapple Curry Banana Bread

• 3 ripe bananas
  
• 1/2 cup melted butter
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 egg, beaten
  
• 2 tbsp coconut milk powder (or unsweetened coconut)
• 1 tbsp lime juice
  
• 3 tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 cup chopped pineapple
  
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups flour
  

Preheat oven to 325F. Spray Mix with spoon in a large bowl, melted butter, mashed bananas and coconut milk powder. Mix in sugars, egg, lime juice and curry powder. Add pineapple and mix. Mix in baking soda. Add the flour and mix. Pour into greased 4x8 loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on rack before removing from pan.

How I love thee... crack candy

I woke up this morning to find that Beau had taken my cracker candy to work to share with CA, his charming bookkeeper/sugar-addict. 

So, I made another batch! Who's the sugar-addict now? (well, as I mentioned before its me).

This time I took Sugar Plum's recipe and added half cup of peanut butter (thinking it would have more of a crispy crunch flavour). Well, I still prefer the original which is nicely crispy and tasted like english toffee while my new version is a bit on the chewy side. 

If you really want some yummy peanut butter flavour, try these peanut butter bars... but don't say I didn't warn you. They are totally addictive. I don't think The Boy even had a chance to try one. Sad but true. And thanks to Sugar Plum for being my first "blog-friend" by posting!